In all the woe and strife, here’s something worth smiling about

From News.com.au: East Timor, one of the world’s poorest nations, has outsmarted the economic giants in the global financial meltdown. As investment banks collapsed and share markets were hammered, the fledgling nation’s wealth - about $US3 billion-plus ($A4.45 billion), mostly from oil and gas - was tucked safely away in US Treasury bonds.

Although the oil price has slumped, the country is still earning more than $A100 million a month in oil revenue and its sovereign wealth fund, dubbed the Petroleum Fund, is on track to hit $US4 billion by the end of 2008….. Full Article: Source